Protector Servorum : The Puerum Magi
by VoyeurTheNinja
Summary: Four boys are contracted into becoming Magical Boys with Homura being the one responsible. They will face the horrors of becoming a Puerum Magi and they shall both enjoy - and suffer - from their new responsibilities. Will those around them suffer as well? And will they defeat new enemies that are seemingly undefeatable to the Puella Magi? (OC Pairing. AU.)
1. Prologue

In the cold dark basement of a large mansion, a dim blue light shined on a tall, slim woman resting on a desk. Surrounding her were hundreds of clipboards, sheets of data and wires connected to computers scattered around the room.

The woman woke up, moaning in an exhausted voice as she stood up and stretched. In the middle of the room, a large egg-shaped device was located, wires plugged into the machine to power it. Still exhausted, she clapped her hands and the lights turned on, revealing everything around the room, along with the woman's tired-looking face, the scars on her hands and the white lab coat wrapped around her.

She clapped her hands again and the large device activated, sounds of gears whirring as buttons and wires on the egg-shaped device blinked and glowed.

"Computer, status report on Incubation unit," the woman demanded with a tired voice.

"Incubator Report: Test Subject, Model 2 has been rendered deceased during the Incubation period."

"Damn it," she cursed and walked up to the device. "Proceed to begin with Model 3, and make sure there are no mistakes this time. I can't afford to lose more bodies."

"Yes, Ma'a- Warning, your daughter has called; she says the house guest has caused trouble in the living room."

_How nice, another thing to add to my list of Monday's greatest annoyances_, she thought, _ever since my daughter brought that boy into the house, everything has been going downhill._

Pressing a few buttons on the machine, she donned a small earpiece and activated it.

"Computer, proceed to ac-"The high-pitched sounds of the alarm cut her off as the lights blacked out and the cone-shaped alarms on the ceiling began to flare red in alert.

"Computer, report," she ordered, a slight hint of distress in her voice.

"Warning, W.A.R.L.O.C.K experiment 321 is escaping its cage. Activating anti-warlock barrier device and proceeding with the evacuation of house residents. Madam, ple-"

"No, computer, hurry up and finish with Test Subject number three. Once completed, eject the subject, erase everything and make sure **nothing** sees the remains of this basement."

"Understood."

The floors of the basement opened up to reveal a case of mechanical stairs leading down to a complex below. Without hesitation, the woman climbed down the stairs, not before looking back at the Incubation device that was whirring loudly as it performed its unknown functions.

Afterwards, the woman climbed down the stairs with the floor closing behind her. The wires of the basement began to fizz and short-circuit as the computer activated again, stating its final report.

"Status report, Incubation Completed, test subject No. 3 Awakened. Releasing Test Subject in emergency escape pod, Location: Mitakihara; now proceeding with self-destruct sequence."

The egg-shaped device was then escalated to the upper floors through an elevator beneath with while the basement began to crumble. Suddenly, the floors of the basement opened up by a pair of dark, clawed hands. A ghastly-face, covered in blood, poked out of it and retreated to the upper floors through the stairs before the basement caved in.


	2. Chapter 1 A Stroll Through Mitakihara

It had been a day since Homura had been discharged from the hospital. Using the 8 days left she had for free until she would begin her day in Mitakihara middle school, she sat in the park most likely calculating her plan as on her lap, a bunch of opened files sat while unopened ones sat beside her.

Flicking her long black hair to the side and wiping the sweat off her forehead, she let out a sigh and turned the pages of the file she was holding.

_"So many times. So many times I have tried - yet, its all the same no matter what. If only, I had something to depend on. "_

She crumbled the edge of her file until a picture of a young girl around her age, with high, puffy, pink twin-tails slid out of her folder. She ignored the files falling off her lap as she tried to reach for it, grasped of the picture's edge before it fell to the mud in front of her and out a sigh of relief - until a plastic ball landed on her hand and her prized memoir landed face-first on the mud.

She wiped the mud off her face as she clenched her teeth in anger and picked up the plastic ball. The grip around it tightening as she heard someone approach her from behind. Turning around, a boy around 15-years old, with neck-length brown hair stood in front of Homura with a nervous look on his face, donning a uniform of Mitakihara middle-school.

"E-excuse me, c-can I have that back?" he nervously asked and Homura's grip around the ball tightened, scaring him a bit.

"What seems to be the problem here?" another voice came from behind Homura, sounding strict and proud.

Turning around again, another middle-school student, with chin-length dark green hair and fringes swept slightly to the right, stood with arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"Mamoru, I kind of pissed this girl off, and she doesn't look like she wants to give back Tomura's ball," the one behind nervously explained, scratching the back of his head.

The one called 'Mamoru' scanned the scene and let out a sigh of annoyance. Homura still stood with the ball threatening to burst in her hand out of anger.

"Miss, may I please have that back? I doubt you would like to waste your time crushing something that doesn't belong to you," the green-haired boy said and crouched down, picking up Homura's memoir and cleaning the mud off it with a napkin he took out of his coat pocket.

Throwing the napkin away, he handed Homura the picture. Mentally, she felt like he was thinking she should be more grateful that he helped her, but just pushed the thought away, snatched the picture out of his hands and placed it in her files before tossing him the ball.

"You have my gratitude," Mamoru said with a smug grin and tossed Takuya the ball.

Homura stayed silent as he chuckled to himself again.

"Again, my apologies for my friend's behavior, stranger," he said and then walked away with Takuya and without another word.

The two walking out of sight, she dropped her guard and picked up her files from the floor. Hoisting her bag of files over her shoulder, she looked up at the clear bright sky above her and her hand reached for it as if to grab it.

_"Madoka," she whispered._

On the way back, she decided to eat something before going back to her house and continue her duties. Picking a simple restaurant, she entered the diner and took a seat at the corner. She ordered a meal and fell back into her seat, letting out another tired sigh.

She wanted to close her eyes, until she heard the middle-school students behind her table conversing.

"Still don't have the guts to confess to Miki-san, Hideki?" a relaxed voice said.

"I already told you, I can't do it; I'm just not good enough for her anyways," another voice, sounding hesitant, sounded from directly behind her. Homura's eyes widened and she took out a small mirror and tried looking at the ones behind her. Directly behind her was a boy with short, blue hair, sipping a drink as he let out a sigh.

"It's not like I can beat that violin prodigy, anyways. My chances are basically this," the one named Hideki then squinted his finger to the size of an ant to demonstrate his explanation before continuing to eat his meal.

The one in front of Hideki was a another boy, with short white hair reaching the back of his neck but long fringes covering up the right side of his face, beside him, multiple empty trays of food were stacked up into a pile as he wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"Tateyama, we should go back home now; else our parents will begin to worry about us, again," Hideki advised and took up his bag.

"They're always worried," Tateyama replied as the two got up from their seats and left the diner. Homura closed her pocket mirror as her food was placed on her table.

Back in her home, Homura sat in her room with a melancholic look on her face, hundreds of files surrounding her as she read one-by-one. Rubbing her eyes in frustration, she threw one of the files onto the floor, huffing in anger.

"Every single calculation I make, every strategy I try, I still can't prefect my plan," she said to herself in frustration and laid down on her bed. Turning to the bedside, a copy of the picture she had in her folder was kept in a small picture frame and Homura proceeded brushed the frame softly.

"I see you have a problem there, Magical Girl," a child-like, cocky voice echoed through her room like a ghost.

Out of reflex, Homura took out a pistol and aimed at a silhouette shaped like a cat, sitting on her desk. "Kyubey?" she asked.

The cat-like figure jumped on the floor and nearly slipped on a file as it landed. A set of ears flopped up and down, a large red circle was tattooed onto its back, three stripes tails flickered in the wind and two familiar, beady red eyes stared at her with a mouth the shape of a curved 'W'.

The thing cleared it's throat and corrected her in a cocky manner, "My name is Sanbey. Not Kyubey."

Homura sat on her bed with eyes widened and her firearm leveled down. Disbelief overwhelmed her as she tried to get off the bed and take a good look at the white creature sitting in the middle of scattered files and papers.

"I-it's impossible. There is now way tha-"

"If you think this is impossible, you wouldn't believe many things that have happened in this crazy world," Sanbey said and stretched its feline body. "It's a good thing that you don't know how each move you make can do so much in this wor-"

Sanbey looked up and noticed Homura still staring at it, and despite the darkness, it could still fell her eyes aiming directly at it.

"OK. I'll just get straight to the point, may I suggest assistance from... Magical Boys?"


	3. Chapter 2 Sanbey

Homura clenched her hand and grabbed the cat-like creature by the ear, pinning it against the wall with brute force. Sounds of choking could be heard from him as Homura tightened her grip.

"I suggest you get out now, otherwise I would have to erase you – multiple times if needed – to make sure you don't get in my way," she spat aggressively as she clenched her teeth.

Sanbey's pleas came out as mere gibberish as Homura tightened her grip and prevented the thing from even thinking straight. Despite her anger, she decided to hear what it had to say (before she would eventually blow it into a million pieces) and let go of the thing.

Sanbey landed on the file-covered ground with a thud and the small thing shook like a cat and surprisingly, gagged as if it was one.

"Jeez, you're the first Magical Girl to even try something like that," Sanbey said and turned to Homura who was now standing with arms crossed.

"Speak what you have to say. Now," she demanded, her patience wearing thin quickly.

"Fine, fine; I'm just here to propose a deal," Sanbey answered and Homura aimed her firearm at Sanbey, a deadly glare aimed at him as well.

"Choose your words carefully and don't try anything funny," she warned.

"I'm not here to grant a wish for you; I know that already happened, Sherlock," Sanbey sarcastically said and hopped onto her computer desk, Homura still aiming at it. "You said you wanted help, right? I can do that, if you grant me what I need."

Hesitantly, she leveled her firearm and holstered it in her pocket.

"Continue," she said, crossing her arms.

"Well, if you want me to give you a group of Magical Boys, I want you to pick a group for me. They will have to be very unnatural if you want them to believe something li-"

"I know."

"Well then, any idea on who do we pick and how to we make them agree to this?"

Homura got off her seat, reached for a file on the floor and monotonously threw it in front of Sanbey.

"I have much information useful for such a thing; I shall not give any further information, nor will I tell how I received such information."

Sanbey's ears flipped up in astonishment and the small creature (again) let out a chuckle. Homura cringed at its childish laugh as it felt unnatural, and disturbing.

"Well then, shall we get to work?" Sanbey asked and opened the file.


	4. Chapter 3 Mitakihara Middle School

It was morning in Mitakihara and the sunlight went between the trees surrounding Homura as she walked on a concrete path, Sanbey sitting in her large holster bag filled with files as she donned a casual outfit.

"So, the plan is to find the boys in that file, right?" Sanbey asked, his head resting on the bag's zipper and Homura simply nodded as in her hand, she was examining a half-opened file with pictures of 4 teenage boys wearing the Mitakihara Middle School Uniforms.

"Correct, I have 7 days left before I begin my enrolment here in Mitakihara Middle School; I'm making sure that those 7 days don't go to waste," Homura explained before placing the file back in her bag.

"And how are you going to find these boys?"

"I have my files to assist me, along with the school board."

Exiting the park path, the two stopped at a pair of tall, sharp gates that guarded an enormous school with glass walls and many, many windows, giving the look of a futuristic school building.

Sanbey took a while to stare in awe as students walked pass the two to enter the school as Homura let out an exhausted sigh that confused the small creature in her bag.

"What's wrong? I don't remember melancholy being the first thing someone feels when they're going to enrol in a place like **this**," Sanbey pointed out.

"It's not melancholy I am feeling; it's repetition."

Those last 2 words confused the creature even further Sanbey tilted its head in confusion as Homura decided to walk towards the ornate gates. She placed her hand on the steel gate and looked at the enormous school once more.

A gust of wind blew against her as she was deep in thought and was visibly interrupted when a nervous voice addressed her from behind, "Ummm, M-miss?"

Annoyed, she turned around and noticed a middle-school student with long purple hair standing in front of her, hiding half of face behind a sheet of pamphlets in her hands like a scared cat.

"Yes?" Homura spoke in her usual monotone and frightened the girl again as the student backed up a bit.

"M-miss, w-would you like a pamphlet f-f-or the u-upcoming international t-t-tournament?" the student nervously asked as she hesitantly offered Homura one of the papers in her trembling hands.

"Such a puss-" Sanbey was interrupted as Homura shoved the critter inside her bag, zipped it and took the paper out of the student's hand which then quickly retracted.

After examining the paper, Homura quickly placed it aside and took out the pictures of her four targets before asking: "Student, do you know these four boys?"

"W-what business do you have with them? Are t-they in trouble or so-"

"Just tell me who they are," Homura cut her off and the student backed off even further, hiding her face behind the sheet of papers.

Letting out another exhausted sigh, Homura gave up and tried entering the gates until a strict, feminine voice called out to her from behind.

"You over there, what are you doing with my sister?"

Homura slowly turned around, expecting some trouble. Another girl around her age, with neck-length purple hair and an annoyed expression stood in front of her, the strap of a prefect wrapped around her waist as she placed a hand around the student Homura had scared.

"It seems that we ran into some trouble," Sanbey pointed out and Homura punched the thing in the head, shoving it deep in her bag again.

"I repeat: who are you, and why are you harassing a student of this school?" the girl demanded an answer as she must have mistaken Homura for a troublemaker.

"M-Minami, she w-wasn't ha-"

"Enough, Yuri, I told you not to walk up to strangers," the prefect named Minami silenced her and shot a suspicious glare at Homura. "I ask again: Who are you?"

She was beginning to aggravate Homura, but calmly, Homura swept her fringes away from her face and introduced herself, preferring to cause less trouble, "My name is Akemi Homura, an upcoming student for next week. If you are a prefect, you may have known me from me enlistment form."

"Next week...? Ah!" The prefect realized and slammed her fist into her open palm. "So **you're** that upcoming student."

"Correct."

Instantly, the prefect lowered her guard and embarrassingly scratched the back of her head, "Sorry about that; I didn't recognize you since you look so different from the papers."

"No, I don't mind."

The prefect then cleared her throat and tried to introduce herself, "Okay, upcoming student, my name is Morikawa Minami, **Prefect** Morikawa Minami. As an apology for persecuting you just now, want a tour of the school?"

_"Perfect," _Homura thought as she pushed back a grin, without delay Homura quickly nodded. "I seem to have trouble navigating through this school."

"Not surprising, the school is designed like an Austrian prison; come with me, I know where to start," she then turned Yuri who had kept silent the entire time, "Come on, I might need your help on this one."

Yuri diligently nodded and Minami then gestured the two to enter the gates before Minami herself followed. After the two passed by a pair of large glass doors, Sanbey popped out of the bag and was left in awe as the interior had a very abnormal design for a school.

Stairs connected multiple floors to each other as the entire lobby was a tall dome with its glass walls showing inner areas like the cafeteria, gyms and such. Homura paid no attention as she followed Minami up the spiral stairs while Yuri nervously walked behind the two.

"So, Akemi-san," Minami spoke up, carrying a casual tone in her voice, "Are you planning on getting used to this place before you enrol here or are you just taking a quick look? 'Cause I don't know of your parents will be alright with you being out of the hospital so soon."

"I want to know the students here before I enrol and I do not have to worry about my current medical condition, I am fine as I am and my parents do not worry about my situation."

Minami laughed a bit, "I know how that feels, I g-"

Minami was cut off by the sudden ringing of her phone and she paused to answer.

While she talked on the phone, Homura glanced to her left to see a still-silent Yuri beside her, a noticeable distance between the two as they walked.

"Go on," Sanbey suggested, "say something to the little pu-hghaogfds."

"W-what's wrong, Miss? I-is there something in your bag?"

"It's nothing," Homura assured her. If it wasn't for the fact that Sanbey could make itself invisible to others, everyone would have noticed the three dead tails hanging from Homura's bag. Yuri was going to speak up again until Minami closed her phone and let out a groan.

"Is there a problem, Morikawa-san?"

"Sorry, looks like I'm gonna' have to show you around in another way."

Homura tilted her head in confusion before Minami lead them into a long hallway.

Passing by the learning section of the school, the classrooms' walls were transparent glass and the student's could be seen in the inside, either messing around or properly studying. Yuri noticed Homura staring at a particular class and wondered what she was looking at.

Minutes later, the three stopped at a large room with a long table in the middle while students transported files and documents around to each other. A slow fan span on the ceiling as bright light from the windows shone on the working students.

The student council room, Homura thought as a student ran up to Minami and handed her a thick file which Minami quickly opened up and examined thoroughly as the student opened his mouth to speak.

"Pres, it seems that there were some false identities given in the tournament enlisting forms again, we're not sure who gave these but it seems they were really desperate; most of these enlists were written by the same people with either heath problems, or lack of requirements to join."

"I thought the rules clearly said that the sick and frail can't join?"

"Well, it seems they ignored that, any idea who gave these?"

"Oh, I think I have some ideas," Minami said and then turned to the two. "Yuri, I want you to show Akemi-san around; I have some business to take care of, can you take care of yourself this time?"

"Y-yes, sister!" Yuri said and quickly nodded, earning a pat on the head from the older sister before the latter left the room with two other students.

Homura glanced down on the younger student in front of her who was practically trying to not panic as sweat ran down her forehead. Clearing her throat, Homura gestured to the door.

"Shall we?"

Yuri quickly nodded and the two left the Student Counsel room. Homura felt strange to be led around by a student younger than her, it somewhat reminded her of an old friend and immediately, a rare smile crept on her face as she began reminiscing in her head.

She came back to reality as the two arrived in a hallway with multiple doors heading into different areas of the school.

"T-this is where most of the clubs are, my sister m-makes sure these clubs fall in line," Yuri explained as she walked up to one door which was dirtied by... something, and strangely had the club title sticker peeled off.

Homura waited for Yuri to open the door, but instead, the door would not budge as the young girl struggled to open it.

"Ikezawa-san, it's me, Morikawa's sister!" Yuri called out to whomever inside as Homura was patiently waiting, tapping her foot on the ground as she did so.

"This girl is wasting our time," Sanbey said, popping his head out of the bag. "Maybe we should go look for the boys by ourselves?"

Homura glanced again at Yuri who was still struggling with the door and looked back at Sanbey. "Perhaps, but if w-"

"UWAH!" Yuri screamed as the door opened and she fell, face-first on the hard floor with a loud thud. Homura looked over to see a student at the door.

"Y-you're so mean, Ikezawa-san, opening the door like that," Yuri moaned as she got up and rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry, I was busy sleeping just now."

"Yeah, I think we should look for the boys ourse- Akemi?" Sanbey looked up and saw a grin on Homura's face. The student at the door matched one of the four boys on Homura's file.

"Perfect," she muttered.


	5. Chapter 4 Ikezawa

Standing in front of Homura, was a boy with an uninterested, lazy expression on his face that was half-covered with his long white bangs as he ate a strawberry Popsicle, looking down on Yuri who was still sitting on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked in a tired voice, rubbing his revealed eye in exhaustion as Yuri scrambled to her feet and introduced Homura, who was still standing behind her, watching.

"T-this is a u-upcoming student for next week and she had j-just been released from the hospital; can you please s-show your club to her so that she can decide on w-what club to pick next week?"

Yuri gasped for air after she was finished, unused to talking long sentences. The boy then turned to Homura and she felt his exposed eye carefully examine her from top to bottom before he took out the Popsicle in his mouth to speak.

"Name?" he asked.

"Akemi Homura."

"So, you're planning on picking a club?" Tateyama asked and leaned on the doorway, "This room isn't much to look at."

Yuri then shook the boy with a disappointed frown, "J-just show her the place!"

"Fine, fine. But don't touch anything," Tateyama then gestured the two to come in, and as the two entered the door, Homura felt a foul stench suddenly pierce her nose before she clenched it in disgust.

A broken air-conditioner was located on the far corner as a fast ceiling fan span on the ceiling. In one corner, a shelf of wooden swords, lances, axes, bows and books, was located next to the window.

In another, a trash can over-filled with empty food containers and it looked like barely anyone had tried to empty it. In the middle of the room was a long, wooden table with empty cake containers, laptops and more books littered across.

Sanbey popped out of the bag again and scanned the room, "This is where one of our targets hangs around? I like it."

"I feel the opposite," Homura whispered and noticed a name-sheet on the wall. Taking out her file, she opened it up and compared it to the sheet on the wall which read: Ikezawa Tateyama, Tezuka Mamoru; Hakamichi Hideki, Takuya Fujimaki and Tomura Fujimaki.

Below the names, what it seemed to be other names, were erased from the sheet with an eraser. Homura closed the file and turned to Sanbey.

"They're all on the list," Akemi concurred, placing back her file.

"All except for that last one," Sanbey pointed out.

Tateyama took a seat and leaned back on the chair as Yuri hesitantly picked up an empty plastic container out of curiosity before placing it down and asking, "W-where's Tezuka-san? Isn't he supposed to be in charge?"

"He – along with Takuya and Tomura – went to do some kind of show in the auditorium, or something," Tateyama explained before opening and sipping a can of soda. "and Hideki... I don't know."

Homura went over to the shelf and skimmed her hand over the dusty wooden equipment, before her hand reached the lance; she stopped when she felt a cautious eye pierce her back. She choose to step away from the shelf and turned behind to notice Tateyama staring at her.

"Don't touch that lance," he warned, before turning to the laptop on the table and opening it.

"Fine," Homura then took a seat, opposite of Tateyama, and examined the littered contents on the table. The table seemed not only dusty, but worn out as well; one of the table legs seemed to be on the edge of breaking. Homura ignored it and asked: "So, what does this club do?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not the club president," he shrugged, still focusing on his laptop as he finished his Popsicle and threw it in the over-flowing trash can which momentarily shook from the impact. "If you want to ask about the club, ask anyone except me, and another club member named 'Takuya'."

"I see. So, may I ask why do you possess wooden weapons here?"

"If the club in the gym can have them, we can as well."

"The Club in the gym?" Homura asked and Tateyama simply nodded.

Yuri raised her hand reluctantly to explain, "T-they're the School's gym club, they mostly do stuff than involves a lot of f-fighting and most of them are... big and scary."

"More like a bunch of dumb jocks," Tateyama interjected. "They know how to swing a sword, but they don't even know where to hit; they just got better things to hit you with."

Homura raised a brow at his sudden display of annoyance towards the subject and leaned in closer.

"So, you're saying that this 'gym club' is superior to this one in terms of fighting?" she asked, and Tateyama's calm and lazy expression still lingered on his face, and Homura noted his calm composure.

"They do have more members and stuff than us, but they're not better if that's what you're asking."

"Quite the patience, he has," Sanbey pointed out and hopped onto the table. Navigating through the litter until her sat right in front of Tateyama and examined him with careful eyes, "Calm, cautious, albeit lazy, from what I can see."

_"He doesn't seem to be very friendly towards others," _Homura pointed out, communicating with Sanbey through the creature's telepathy powers.

"Maybe it's because you seem egoistical and arrogant at first sight? You're also very stoic and unfriend-"

Tateyama looked up and saw – what it seemed to be – Homura grasping the air tightly. But he merely shrugged it off; thinking it Homura had been released from the hospital without a sort of required medication.

Yuri, picking up a stray umbrella from beside the door, nervously poked the over-flowing trash can that threatened to burst open. The can shook violently for a while and the young girl decided to turn around and noticed Tateyama and Homura silently sitting opposite of each other.

"I-Ikezawa-san, d-don't you think you have to well... empty the t-trash?" she asked, pointing the umbrella at the trash can.

"I'll do it later," he said without turning to her.

"Bu-"

"Morikawa-san," Homura spoke up, "Shall we continue the tour?" she asked and got up from her seat. Tateyama showed no interest in the two as they walked towards the door.

"Y-yes, Akemi-san, come with me," Yuri then open the door, but took another look at the trash can. 'Shoul-"

Tateyama pressed a button on his laptop and a set of wheels popped out from beneath the trashcan before wheeling it over to the window. The trashcan was raised by an underneath platform and was tilted over the window before emptying the trash into a bigger one outside. The trashcan wheeled back into its place beside the door to lay dormant again.

"There, done."

_"It seems he's a tech expert as well," _Homura thought to Sanbey.

_"Figured that out by yourself?"_

Homura glared at the creature sitting in her bag.

_"I was just joking."_

The two then exited the room and closed the door behind them, hearing the click of an automated lock activate on the other side of the door.

"He does not talk much, does he?" asked Homura.

"He's t-talks mostly around his friends, though. S-shall we continue?"

Homura nodded and gestured the girl to lead the way. As time passed, Homura took at tour into the other clubs - and although she did not find her other three targets – Homura and Sanbey decided it would be quicker to split up and navigate through the large school.

At one point, Homura and Yuri stopped in front of a set of steel double-doors, the word 'Gymnasium' plastered on top of the doors. Yuri struggled to open the doors and Homura decided to assist the young girl.

Inside, the floors gymnasium the made of out wood, polished clean by the janitors, and walls made out of concrete, rather than the usual glass walls of the school. Two large sets of bleachers were located at the sides of the gymnasium as air-cons cooled down the large gymnasium and its training students.

"So this is where the gym club is located?" Homura asked and the younger student quietly nodded before the two continued the tour.

In the middle of the gymnasium, something was odd as most of the students possibly involved with the gym club were lined up with their backs against the wall. Also, as they draw near, the two spotted Minami – along with some of her assistants – talking with one of the students.


	6. Chapter 5 Gym Club

Homura and Yuri walked closer and saw that the members of the gym club were lined up with their backs against the walls, boys and girl all wearing their usual gym attire made out of singlet and shorts. Despite the sudden assembly, the members were talking and bantering with each other as they waited. Some asking what was going or even dozing off.

"Hey, heard the Student Council called us here; said something 'bout fake enlistment forms."

"Darn, they found out? Hakamichi and Tezuka better pay up for making u-"

"Shut it. Council Pres' is coming."

Walking towards them, in a manner that made all other students bowed as they passed by, was Minami and two of her Council Members. The girl glared at the rounded-up gym members as their postures straightened at her presence.

Sanbey popped out of Homura's bag and asked, "Spot any of our targets, yet?"

Homura looked at the list again and shook her head.

Minami turned to one of her Council Members and said, "I don't see their Club President he-"

"Hey Pres'," one of the members called out to her, "Is there a good reason why we're lining up like a bunch of students in a vaccine centre?"

Minami's eyes fixed on one of the members at the other side of the line who had a smug grin as he leaned on the wall with crossed arms. Minami rolled her eyes at his presence as it was the club's 2nd ace, Takehito Saeki.

"I don't have time to deal with you," she said casually as she rubbed her forehead, "Get me your Club President or el-"

"Or else what?" he stepped forward, "You gonna' disqualify your only sports team from the International Tournament?"

Minami let out another sigh and looked at the sports ace, "I can just make you do toilet duty for a week, you know?"

The members tried to hold back their laughter at her threat as Takehito jumped at her threat. Toilet duty was not something a sane person would do if it involved the Gymnasium latrines.

"I'd rathe'"

"Stop it, you two," a calm, dignified voice suddenly spoke. Behind Minami, Homura saw a senior student with short, orange hair, wearing the usual student uniform. Makoto Takamatsu, Club President of the gym club. Minami turned around and gave a disappointed look at him.

"You're late."

"I was busy helping the Performance Club set up in the auditorium," he replied calmly and walked towards the gym members, crossing his arms. "What's this all about, Minami?"

One of the Council Members handed him a clipboard as Minami began to speak while Homura and Yuri just stood on the sidelines, waiting to ask Minami some questions.

"Two people are suspected of submitting fake enlistment forms for the upcoming tournament, and your club is suspected of submitting them."

Takehito raised his hand immediately, "That some bullcrap right there, Pres', the club wouldn't submit-"

"If they didn't, who else could have sent them?" Minami cut him off with a question which Takehito merely answered with gibberish. The Club President placed a hand on the ace and gestured him to keep quite to which the he followed willfully as it came from his superior.

Turning back to Minami, he said, "I don't know what is exactly going on, but I suggest you keep your suspicions of my club because it's interrupting their training and it's making it hard for me to take care of them."

Minami glared at Makoto with sudden anger in her eyes, "I have responsibilities too, you know?"

"And so do I, Student President."

Minami took her eyes off Makoto and turned to her assistants, "We're leaving, there's no point being here, not anymore."

The student council then left the Gymnasium with Minami not even noticing Yuri and Homura, oddly, she seemed mysteriously angry as she left and the two could not figure out why.

Homura was about to say something to Yuri when she realized that Yuri was quickly walking up to Makoto. The senior noticed her and showed a small smile at her presence as Homura caught up to her.

"Hello Yuri, it's been a while," he greeted and patted her on the head. He looked up to see Homura, "and this is?"

"T-this person is transferring to t-this school in a week, I-I'm showing her around."

Makoto looked at Homura and extended a hand, "Greetings, I'm guessing you're going to ask what that was about, just now?"

Sanbey looked at the senior from top-to-bottom and concluded, _"You know, I know he's not our target, but I don't mind him coming along with us."_

_"Silence, you."_

Homura shook hands with the senior and cleared her throat, noticing Makoto was a bit taller than she was, unlike Tateyama, "I only have thing to ask: What is 'International Tournament'?"

Makoto first turned to his club members and ordered them to get changed, after that, he offered Homura to sit on the bleachers. Sitting on the hard wooden seats, he explained, "In less than 4 weeks, the school is presenting a team to represent us in a international tournament, the team can use whatever weapons they want, provided they don't cheat."

"Strange, I've never heard of this before."

Makoto let a friendly chuckle, "It's not really that popular or well-heard of. Heck, the same thing goes for this school. Now, is there anything else?"

Although she wanted to ask about him and Minami, she pushed away the thought and shook her head. Knowing it was a private matter.

"OK, then I'll be on the running field outside with my team, if you need me, just call me," Makoto then waved at Homura and Yuri goodbye before leaving for the lockers. For a while, Homura and Yuri decided to take a break from the tour and sit down.

After the Gym members left, Yuri nudged Homura in the arm and asked if she wanted a tour of the locker room as well. Although it wasn't necessary, she still needed to find her targets around the school.

It only took the smell of sweat and grime to make them regret their decision as the two pinched their noses as they walked along the hallway of lockers. The smell was unbearable to them and discarded sports clothing was scattered across the floor. The two turned around to leave until the sound of clattering metal rang in the air, along with a pair of voices; one of them being Takehito.

"Come on, Hakamichi-kun, spill the beans or-"

"Or you'll do what? Wedgie? Swirlie? Stuffed in the locker? Been there, done all that," a cocky, smug voice replied in advance. Curiously, Homura and Yuri decided to investigate the noises which came from the end of the room. The pair hid behind a set if lockers as the black-haired Magical Girl peeked around the corner to spot Takehito, along with another member, grabbing a student by the collar and lifting him into the air.

Sanbey suddenly got out of her bag and tugged her shirt as Homura realized who Takehito was holding, "Homura, it seems that we've found our next target."


	7. Chapter 6 Hakamichi

The student pinned to the locker had medium-length, dark blue hair as he wore the school uniform with rolled-up sleeves and a cocky smile on his face. Takehito slammed him against the lockers again, visibly agitated.

"Come on, I know you and that Tezuka boy made one of my boys to give those fake forms, spill the beans so that you'll have an easier time with me and my pal here," Takehito's friend behind him slammed his fist beside the blue-haired boy's face, only to get a mocking chuckle in response.

"Wow, you actually figured that out? I thought the Gym Club were all brawn and nor brains," he laughed and Takehito slammed him against the lockers again.

Homura knew intervening wouldn't be wise here as she didn't know the boy, so she gestured Yuri to stay still as she leaned in closer from the left.

"Spill the beans so that my boys won't be annoyed by that Council President, anymore! That girl won't take anything without proof!"

The blue-haired boy chuckled again and mocked with a smug smile, "I'd call you stupid for actually thinking I would spill just because you're threatening me; but that would be an insult to stupid people."

Tired of his insults, Takehito threw the boy across the room and slammed him against the locker Homura and Yuri were hiding behind. Homura placed a hand over Yuri's mouth so she wouldn't squirm.

Homura heard a bone crack and a grunt of pain, "OK, **that** hurt."

Takehito grabbed him by the collar again and slammed him against the locker, "Just spill, already! I can do this all day, Hakamichi. I know it since a pipsqueak like you can't even fight back, just like your Mama."

Takehito saw the boy clench his fist at the insult, and the boy shot him a glare.

"Aww, is the Mama's boy 'gonna crack another insult, now?" Takehito mocked.

**"Talk is cheap, but so are you."**

Homura heard the each of them crack their knuckles with intimidation and although she intervening would be awkward, she needed her target conscious, and healthy.

"Stop this, **immediately**," Makoto's voice suddenly rang through the locker room. Takehito immediately dropped the blue-haired on the floor and along with his friend, bowed at the sudden appearance of their Club President.

"Y-Yes, Club President!" they said in unison.

"Leave us."

Homura let out a relieved sigh, the two members left as she saw Makoto offer a hand to the boy that was still on the floor, rubbing his injured back as he got up to his feet.

"You should really learn to pick your fights wisely, Hideki," Makoto advised.

"Whatever, I had it under control, anyways. But don't go calling me by my first name just because this is the 4th time you saved my butt," he said and flexed his back until he heard a satisfying crack, "Much better."

Turning to the locker Homura was hiding behind, he knocked on the locker door, "Whoever was hiding behind there since 5 minutes ago, you can come out now."

"Impressive detection skills," Sanbey pointed out.

Slowly, Homura walked out from behind the locker while Yuri ran behind Makoto. Makoto gave her and Yuri look of surprise and asked, "what were you two doing here?'

"I-I was showing Akemi-san a-around the locker room."

Hideki leaned on a locker and wagged his finger at the two, "It's not nice sneaking around, Miss."

Makoto shot a glare at the boy, "And it's not nice using my members to enlist fake forms. I thought I already warned you that you and your friend are not good enough for the team?"

"Hey, I've been practicing and my friend has been going for check-ups!"

"That doesn't mean you and your friends can just use my Club Members as tools."

Homura and Yuri felt very awkward to be in the locker room as the two began to argue, Yuri slowly shifted to Homura's side and hide behind her while Homura grew impatient.

After a few seconds, Hideki fixed his collar and huffed, "Anyways, I'll be leaving now."

Before the boy exited the room, Makoto warned him, "I **will** be reporting you to the Student Council."

Hideki merely shrugged and laughed, "Good luck on that, pal."

After he left without another word, Makoto let out an exhausted sigh and turned to the silent pair, "I suggest you two continue with whatever you two were doing, I have business to attend."

The two nodded diligently at the senior and made their way out of the locker room. Afterwards, the two toured through more places like the cafeteria, running fields and rooftop, and as usual, the walk was silent and uncomfortable.

The two momentarily stopped outside the library for a break, although, after a few seconds, Homura realized Yuri was lost in navigation. The little girl looked left and right, taking out a map of the school to no luck.

Homura sighed, "Do you require help?"

"O-of course not," she replied, scratching her head in confusion, "The s-student council president's s-sister can handle this."

While she was in her dilemma, Homura leaned on the wall, patiently waiting for the girl to snap out of it since she would prefer not to disturb her. Homura took out her list of targets and double-checked it for errors.

The hallway was soon quite, and Homura cherished the moment of silence while Sanbey took a nap in her bag. Her eye bags were more visible than before, since she had spent the night discussing with Sanbey.

As she sank into a nap, she began to think. What will she do after she accomplishes her goal? What will she do with the Magical Boys? Will they be as powerful as Sanbey had promised? All of these thoughts were cut off as Homura heard the creaking of wheels heading towards her.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" a young, gentle voice can from her left and Homura opened her eyes, not noticing she had been asleep. On her left, a young man, with no legs, sat on a wheel-chair while he smiled at Homura.

Homura was surprised at the boy's calm expression, despite his visible disability. The boy fixed his short, brown hair and cleared his throat, "You two seem to be having a problem, how may I help?"


	8. Chapter 7 Daylight

Strapped to the back of the young boy's wheelchair, was a pair of curved-shape leg prosthetics which Homura wondered why it wasn't being used, and a set books which were most likely borrowed from the library they were standing outside of.

"You – or maybe – the girl over there seems to be having trouble navigating the school," the boy pointed out.

Homura scratched her chin, uneasy from seeing to the stumps that were the boy's legs. Clearing her throat, she spoke, "And you are?"

"Ah, sorry, I had forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Fujimaki Tomura, and what about you, Miss?"

"Homura. Akemi Homura."

"Now, as I was asking," he looked over to Yuri and noticed her ruffling her hair in confusion and dismay, mumbling to herself if she was lost or not, "Yuri," he called out to her.

"Morikawa-san," Homura did the same and tapped the young girl on the shoulder. The young girl did not notice the two behind them.

Yuri looked at the map of the school and looked down the hallway in front of them that split into two different stair cases and continued muttering to herself.

"Morikawa-san."

Homura started to grow impatient and glanced over to Tomura who smiled at Yuri's dilemma; Tomura looked 5 years younger than Homura, similar to Yuri. Not wanting to waste time, Tomura cycled forward and turned her around.

"I see you require help. Again," he pointed out as-a-matter-of-factly and Yuri's face turned red.

"Tomura!" she exclaimed and immediately hid the map behind her back, "I-I'm not lost... I think."

Homura raised a brow at her sudden change of behaviour; the two seemed to know each other, the fact they called each other by their first names made it more prominent. Tomura let out an amused chuckle, "Would you like me to escort you to somewhere else?"

Yuri looked away and replied with a bit of stubbornness, "...Fine."

Tomura looked over to Homura and gestured her to follow him. In the hallway, the only sounds made were the creaking of Tomura's wheelchair. Homura nudged Yuri, startling her a bit before she asked, "Why isn't he using those prosthetics strapped to his chair?"

"He doesn't really like using those from what he tells me, that's all I know."

Homura looked over at Tomura who seemed to be reading as they walked, the fact that he knew the way allowed him to do so without looking had impressed her a bit. Homura also seemed to notice that Yuri seemed less scared around her now, perhaps she's gotten used to Homura's presence.

As the three walked, they entered a small bridge that connected the section of the building the three were in, to another one at the other side of the school. Homura looked to her left and saw that the entire left side was a railing-guarded window that showed one of the grass-lased courtyards outside.

The light from the sun shined on them before they entered the next section of the school. It had been too long since she had met other people and talked to him, normally, she would just see them as an inconvenience to her plan and decided to leave them be.

Now, she felt like she was experiencing a new life, new people, and possibly, new friends.

_"Deep in thought, huh?" _Sanbey interrupted her thoughts.

_"I told you to stop reading my thoughts, it's intrusive."_

Ever since last night Homura had kept her eye out for anything suspicious the little creature could likely do. The fact that during their planning last night, Sanbey pointed out that he – or it – could not recall anything before it had met up with Homura. She suspected if it was lying.

_"It's not like I'm keeping things away from you, I just can't seem to remember things from the past few yea- ack!"_

"Is there anything wrong?" Tomura spoke up, noticing Homura strangling Sanbey in her bag without any mercy.

Homura released Sanbey from her grip and waved her hand to shrug of concern, "It's nothing."

Tomura's usual gentle smile came back and he looked away, assured that nothing was wrong. From the signs that were placed on the wall as they walked, the three seemed to be heading for the auditorium.

_"You don't like me very much, do you?" _

Homura tried to filter out Sanbey's pointless talk and took out her folder. Opening it up, a picture of a familiar-pink haired girl fell out but was caught it the hands of Homura in time. Checking it to see if it was damaged, she felt a bit upset when she noticed it was wrinkled from her catch.

"Isn't that Kaname Madoka?"

Homura looked to her right to noticed Yuri looking at the picture in her hand. "Do you know her?"

Yuri gave a simple nod, "How do you know her?"

Homura placed the picture back in her folder and closed it, placing it in her bag before giving a non-stoic answer, "She's a friend of mine... a close friend..."

Homura then shook her head to focus on what she was doing when she noticed Yuri staring at her. "Anyways, I w-"

"My, my, I seem to be lost," a voice spoke up.

Homura and Yuri glanced over to their front, a woman with long, black hair, and an odd look on her face, wandered around outside the double-doors to the auditorium. The woman seemed to be talking to herself, looking back and forth until she spotted and recognized Tomura.

"Tomura!" she walked over to young boy and shook his hand, "How are you?"

"Who is that woman?" Homura asked Yuri.

"That's Ikezawa-kun's step-mother."

Homura took a closer look at the woman, she seemed to be oblivious to Homura and Yuri's presence while she spoke to Tomura with kindness that seemed quite odd and unusual. The woman took out what it seemed to be a canister of pills and placed it in Tomuta's hand.

"Can you pass this to him, please? He seemed like her forgot about it again," the woman asked.

"Of course," Tomura said with a broken smile, he could keep a straight face talking to the woman.

Giving a small bow of respect, the woman walked away, "Now, if I remember where I came i-"

Tomura outstretched his arm and cut her off, "W-would you like me to escort outside?"

"Well, of course, dear," the woman said and gave another odd smile.

Tomura turned to the two and said, "You two go ahead without me, I'll be busy for a while."

Homura and Yuri nodded and watched as Tomura escorted the woman out of the premises. The woman asking odd and unusual questions as they went their way.

Yuri opened the heavy, double-doors to the auditorium but seemed to be having trouble. Homura gave a slight push and the change of force pushed the doors open and Yuri nearly fell face-first on the floor before Homura grabbed her by the collar.

Looking back up, the entire auditorium was wide and big, rows and rows of seats facing a large, wooden stage with spotlights beaming down streams of light onto the stage. Around 50 students seemed to be seated on the rows, to Homura's confusion.

On the stage, things like zip-lines, ramps, and target dummies were placed across.

_Is something going on here?_ She thought as she walked down the rows of seats alongside Yuri to find a place to rest. Sanbey came out of her bag with ears flopping out of curiosity, thinking the same thing as Homura.

A spotlight suddenly shined on a student standing on the stage; in his hand, a microphone, and in another, a wooden bow. The student had long brown hair and a cheery expression on his face as he spoke into the microphone with a excited tone, "Students of Mitakihara, Welcome to another one of Takuya Fujimaki's Archery Shows!"

The crowd did not clap, and the student nervously laughed in response, "Tough crowd..."

While Yuri took a nap, Homura opened up her folder with haste, Sanbey sitting on her armrest.

"Is that boy what I think he is?" he asked.

"Yes," she took out her list and saw the student's name in it, "third target found."


	9. Chapter 8 Fujimaki

Takuya Fujimaki, dressed in a blue, performance outfit that seemed a bit tight, fixed his long, brown hair before taking a eager and nervous peak out off the stage.

Takuya gulped at the amount of students that had gathered over the while, the large crowd of murmuring students had made him nervous to the bone. But, even this, and the fact that his brother seemed to be absent, the show must go on.

"Alright, Takuya, listen up!" he said to himself, I am going to go out there, and show them what it means to be a top archer!"

Gripping his ear-microphone, he walked onto the dark stage, taking out his bow which had been crafted beautifully by a friend, in his hand, "Welcome! Welcome! Thank you for using your spare ti-"

"Get on with the show, already!" one of the students exclaimed and Takuya felt his hope drop - but not to a point where he wanted to give up.

He tapped his ear-microphone and spoke into it, "Tateyama, cue the lights, please."

The spotlights did not turn on and the students began doing their own business with their phones and friends, or even dozing off. He reached for his microphone, again, "Pretty please? I'll give you my share of lunch, later."

The spotlights activated and shined on the stage where things like ladders, swings and bull's-eyes were spread across the large, wooden stage. And on the top, a large canister of water was placed on top of a cross-marked area that was in the middle of everything.

"Thank you," he turned off the device and turned towards the crowd, gaining their attention.

* * *

It had been 10 minutes since Homura and Yuri entered the auditorium, Yuri fell asleep in her chair, tired from the day, while Homura sat in her chair, reading her files as Sanbey sat on the armrest.

"Come on, start already," it moaned and turned to Homura, "After we are done looking at all these boys which, in my opinion, seem to be people that won't be easy to convince, what do we do, anyways?"

Homura flipped the pages of her file, "I'll keep that to myself."

"Sure, I bet you're going to just fu-"

Homura slammed her fist into the armrest, startling Yuri and waking her up to see a displeased Homura staring at her left armrest. "Is there something wrong?" she asked in a drowsy voice.

"No, nothing is wrong."

A high-pitch sting from the microphone brought the twos' attention to the stage, where Homura's target, was standing on. He nervously loosened his collar a bit before speaking, "Um, can I please have a volunteer? Anyone? I promise, you will only have to stand still."

Homura looked over to Yuri who had hesitantly risen up her hand with a nervous look on her face, similar to the one Takuya had.

"Alright, we have one, yay," he tried sounding happy, but his eagerness did not even reach the crowd. Homura felt a bit weird as she watched Yuri walk up the stage, all this, happening, almost a week before she even actually enrolled in this school. Now, she could actually enjoy herself, before she got back to her plans.

Yuri didn't seem that nervous around the Archer when she stood beside him and she was acting somewhat normal as well, Homura guessed the two had met but shoved the thought away when the show began to start.

Takuya took a deep breath, walking up to one of ladders and placing back his bow. Climbing up the ladder of the small spire that nearly reached the tall ceiling; he then positioned himself on a ramp. Another spire was on the other side, with a swing built between the two. Yuri was right underneath said swings and standing on top of the marked line and right beneath the canister.

Takuya activated his microphone and cleared his throat, "Tateyama, can you play what we recorded, earlier?" he asked as he readied his bow and strapped his quiver onto his back. After that, a monotone recording was played out through the speakers.

"Greetings, our volunteer down there is standing under a large can of water and will have to stand there for the entire play, the can has a little timer on it, so when it clicks, the water will fall out and onto Yuri down there."

Takuya grabbed one of the swings between the spires.

"Takuya here, will have to shot a total of 12 bull's-eyes, which are located in 3 different sides of the stage, and will have to do so while swinging through the stage; making aiming difficult."

Homura raised an eye at his out of intrigue, "Such a simple act," she shifted her seat and looked closely, noticing that on the three curved walls of the stage, bull's-eyes were placed on each side in a circular manner which had began to spun in a fast rate.

The recording then finished its last line, "Starting in 3... 2... 1..."

Takuya wrapped his legs on the swing and launched himself with his arms, beginning to take aim with his bow to fire at the targets, while upside down. Raising his bow, he took out an arrow and pulled it back against the string of his weapon.

His eyes narrowed down to a target, middle section of the stage, and despite the swift movements of the swing and the target, he fired. The arrow pierced through the air, and accurately hit the spinning target, much to the audiences' surprise.

"Impressive," Sanbey said, rubbing his injured head.

Takuya's hands swiftly reached for another arrow, four this time, shockingly. He had reached the other spire and pushed himself away to gain momentum and speed. As the swing reached the middle, Takuya fired and scored all four targets on the left side of the stage.

The crowd clapped, so did Homura and Yuri, but time was running out. He scored the remaining three in the middle, but during it, his hands seemed to falter a bit from exhaustion his earlier stunt had cost him.

The cold air he felt as he swung was refreshing at least, and the timer had 15 seconds left. Yuri's fingers began to fiddle from nervousness as she looked up at the above canister.

Takuya, with no time to waste, pushed himself again, and as he reached the middle, again, he unwrapped himself and jumped off the swing with four arrows already prepped. The pulled back the arrows, calculated the trajectory to hit the spinning targets, and fired.

The sharp arrows stabbed into each of the four and ended the timer, Takuya landed on his swing again and leaped back onto one of the spires while the crowd applauded with cheers and clapping.

Homura was impressed, very, the boy showed flaws, but his skills were excellent. Yuri gave a smile to the young Archer as he walked up to her. But he felt the urge to have one more trick. He took out his last arrow and prepped it as he walked to the middle with an enthusiastic smile.

"For my last trick I sha-"

Takuya was cut off as he tripped on a piece of jutting wood, the arrow was released from his grip and to everyone's shock, the arrow shot into the ceiling and knocked into one of the fire alarms. Water started pouring onto the crowd immediately began panicking.

People started running out of the auditorium as Takuya pleaded them to come back. Homura, walking up to the stage, reunited with Yuri who had tried covering herself with her hands, and placed her bag over her to shield her; much to her gratefulness.

The black-haired girl glanced over to the Archer who seemed to be mourning his bow which had broke from the fall. _Perhaps he wasn't as impressive as I thought_, she thought to herself.

_Agreed_, Sanbey thought as its shook off the water from its black and white fur, its 3 tails flickering in the wind.

* * *

Elsewhere, Tomura wheeled towards the door to the auditorium and let out a sigh, "Jeez, I wonder how can Miss Ikezawa ever get out of her house," opening the doors, his eyes widened to a sight of a auditorium, drenched in water. The fire alarms had stopped after Homura turned them off and Tomura gave an apologetic smile towards her when she noticed him.

After a while, and some time to dry up in the backstage, Homura was drying up a cold Yuri as the girl sneezed from a cold.

"Sorry about my brother, he's quite... clumsy, " Tomura said, wheeling up towards her with another towel in hand which Homura quietly thanked him for.

"It's alright, I have been through worst."

Tomura chuckled a but, "Although, you may want to head back to the Student Counsil office. Yuri, has she been through all parts of the school yet?"

Yuri, shrivelling from a cold and clenching the towel wrapped around her, nodded before sneezing.

"Okay, you two better go now, before the Student Council arrives to see... this."

Back in the hallways of the school, Yuri's sneezes echoed through before the two stopped right outside the door to the office. But Homura pressed her ear against the door, hearing two distinct voices talking, one of them being Minami.

"Hacking of the school system, illegal documents, drenching the auditorium with water, Mamoru-kun, do you even know how much trouble your Club has cost this school?"

A classy, arrogant, and somewhat smug voice replied, "Of course, how do you think I manage to even get past the other times we had been through events such as this?"

Mamoru, the name rang in her head. Homura, knowing this was the last target, clenched the doorknob, she had come closer to her plan by the hour, and she was not going to let last night's entire planning go to waste.

She opened up the door, and felt the cold air of the student council room greet her.


	10. Chapter 9 Tezuka

Entering the Student Counsel room, the air felt tense, the fan above span at high speeds and sheet curtains covered the windows, streaks of light shining on the long table in the room.

Most of the students that Homura saw here earlier were gone. All except for Minami, who was sitting at the end of the long table with a tired and un-amused expression. Opposite of her, a boy, with chin-length dark green hair, sat with crossed legs and a smug look on his face as he leaned on the table.

Minami was the first to notice the two at the door and gestured them to take a seat before turning back to the green-haired boy, "As I was saying, it's been nearly 3 months since I made you and your friends the new Freelancer club of this school and from the reports I get, you four are doing more harm than good, Mamoru Tezuka-kun."

Homura looked over at the boy and noticed that the smug-expression on his face did waver. Mamoru cleared his throat and replied calmly, "It's not like I haven't been making up for all those damages. Most of them were not our fault to begin with."

Minami took out a bunch of files from her drawers and began reading them out, "Hacking of the school's cameras, picking fights with the other clubs, blackmailing others to submit fake enlistment forms, drenching the auditorium in water, etc."

He took one of the files and read it before sliding it back to Minami, "Not everything we do always happens because of us. You do realize how the other students treat our club, right?"

Minami placed her face in her palm before sighing, "What I'm trying to say is that your club has been doing more harm than good, heck, I'm thinking of shutting you down."

Mamoru slammed his hand onto the table, startling Yuri a bit until Homura placed a hand on her head, "Do **not** even think about that, Minami. My friends and I may be creating trouble, but at least we keep to ourselves for most of the time."

Minami and Mamoru locked eyes with one another and the room began to feel even tenser. Homura watched on while Yuri fell into a nap.

A moment of silence before Mamoru fixed his uniform's collar and put on that smug smile on his face again, "Now then, is there anything else you called me for? Tea? Coffee? No? Then I shall take my leave."

Mamoru stood up straight and turned his glance over to Homura, the two recognized each other from the park but said nothing. Instead, Mamoru shot a smile at Homura before leaving in an orderly fashion and turning back to Minami, "Oh, and before I leave. I'll leave this here."

He took out a small piece of wooden craft which shaped into a small symbol out of his pocket and threw it into Minami's open palm before giving another smirk, "Pray into it for good luck."

"I don't believe in things like that," Minami replied.

"Suit yourself, Morikawa," Mamoru then exited the room, the noise of the door closing waking up Yuri.

Homura watched as Minami then sunk into her arms on the table, sighing heavily with anger before slamming a fist into the table as Homura got up and walked over to her.

"That guy is just soooo hard to deal with..."

Homura took a seat next to her and offered her a bottle of water from her bag which the Counsel President graciously took, "You seem to be in a dilemma," said Homura.

"Yeah, kinda' obvious," Minami took a sip from the bottle and glanced over to Yuri. "Yuri, have you shown her around?"

"Y-yes, sister."

"Good girl," Minami placed the bottle on the table and stretched her arms out before laying back on her seat and turning to Homura, "Not really a good first impressions of the school, huh?"

Homura nodded, "It's now how I remembered how this place used to be."

"You've been here before?"

Homura nodded again and placed her bag on the floor for comfort, "You can somewhat say that, although it might be the fact I never really paid attention to my surroundings for most of the time."

"Well, things have changed, especially since that Freelance Club started," Minami stood up from her seat and looked out the window to marvel at the trees outside, "I have already begun to regret allowing them to start."

Homura crossed her legs and begun relaxing as well, "What is this Freelancer club in general?"

"A club that do whatever we ask them to do, and when we're not asking, they do whatever they want."

"I see."

Sanbey crawled out of Homura's bag and hopped onto the long table_, _stretching its paws,_ "What'd I miss?" _

_"Nothing, actually,"_ Homura quickly answered.

A knock on the door came and Yuri quickly opened it, revealing Makoto standing in the door way.

"May I come in?" he asked and Minami nodded.

Patting Yuri on the head on his way in, Makoto took a seat and asked, "Have you thought about it, yet?"

"He's persistent on not shutting down, heck, he's got enough leverage and reasons to use if I intend on shutting them down."

"You can't possibly be thinking of letting them run along, why don't we send someone to watch over them?"

Minami laughed a bit and took a seat again, "Who's crazy enough to watch over **them**? Let me list them out for you if you forgot: a smug, manipulative leader, a moron that can shoot an apple without looking straight, a hot-headed, sarcastic snarker, and a creepy, emo tech-freak that no girl wants to be even alone with."

Makoto looked down on the table, thinking for some answers while Minami waited. Homura then took this chance, even though she felt that she might regret this.

"I may be willing to do it."

Minami and Makoto quickly turned to Homura who had raised her hand, her calm expression still on her face.

* * *

Walking in the hallway that leads to the Club rooms, Homura, Yuri, and Minami stopped in front of the Freelancer Club's worn-out door. Minami took a mental note to actually send someone to fix this door that looked like it was going to break.

Knocking on the stale wood, Minami waited for an answer.

There was nothing but silence.

Minami then took a step back as Yuri stepped in front of the door, "Free ice-cream!"

"Free ice-cream?!" a cheery voice inside exclaimed.

To the 3's surprise, they could hear the sounds of 5 different locks unlocking themselves before the door quickly opened to reveal Takuya standing in the doorway, "Free ice-cream?!"

Minami promptly kicked the boy in the stomach and sent him knocking into the long table where Hideki, Tateyama and Mamoru were sitting.

"That was for drenching my sister in water," Minami said in a cold manner.

Hideki, who had his feet placed on the table, glanced over to Tateyama who was sitting in front of his laptop, "Told ya' it was Minami outside the door."

Tateyama muttered a curse under his breath while Mamoru, who had a small chisel in his hand and a piece of wood in another, gave Hideki an order to help up Takuya before raising a brow at the three's sudden arrival, "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"Yes," Minami took out a folder and threw it onto the table that slowly slid into Mamoru's view. Homura then stepped forward before Minami quickly declared, "From now on, she will be your Supervisor."


	11. Chapter 10 Memory

On the night before the trip to Mitakihara Middle-School, Homura and Sanbey were busy planning out their objectives for the coming week.

Sanbey was sitting on a table next to a lamp and a pile of files Homura was showing him while Homura was taking out files out of her drawers before placing them on the table, "Do we agree on the plan?"

Sanbey looked at the girl and chuckled, "You think we can actually pull this off?"

"Of course."

As Sanbey looked back and silently read the files, Homura looked at him with suspicion. Her eyes were fixed on his every move, and her body was ready to counter anything he's up to.

Emotions, a different target for recruitment, pain receptors; these were the anomalies Homura had noticed with the little creature, and so far, this was the only one she had encountered with these sorts of traits. She reminded herself to keep and eye open for anything else similar.

"Hey, I got a question."

"What?"

"What if something goes wrong?"

Homura looked at her files, the question having no effect on her, "I always have extra plans. Finished or not, I remember them all."

* * *

As Hideki got Takuya up to his feet, Mamoru took the form and read it as Takuya raised his hand, "Pres, how come a random transfer student gets to be a Supervisor while all I got is treasurer? I don't even know what the heck I do."

Ignoring his question, Minami placed her hands on the table, "Since you 4 are so eager to cause trouble, I'm placing her as your Supervisor. She told me about her capabilities, and I'm sure they can be of use," she looked over to Homura who was standing behind her, "Right?"

Homura silently nodded, her arms placed behind her back and her feet stood straight, no signs of any improper posture.

"See? Also, since the competition is on April 3rd, which is 16 to 17 days from now on, I'm making sure you 4 are disciplined before you are assigned to you jobs on the start of Training day," Minami glanced over to Tateyama and Hideki, "I'm also making sure you two don't try anything funny again."

Tateyama tapped away on his laptop and Hideki whistled innocently, Homura couldn't tell what they were feeling underneath.

Mamoru slid back the form and supported his chin with his hand as he smugly claimed, "Do you as you like, and it's not like we can stop you, right?"

Minami's eyes narrowed down on him before she turned away, having better things to do than argue with him at the moment, "As her first act as Supervisor – and as your punishment – I'm sending you 4 to go clean up the school front-yard with her watching over you."

Yuri raised her hand, "Isn't it almost lunch break?"

Takuya nodded in agreement and raised his hand as well, "That's right; we can't work on an empty stomach! Not to mention, we'd lose our appetites picking up garbage!"

Homura took out something from her bag, revealing to be military-issue M. R. Es , "Is this sufficient?"

Minami looked at the crudely packaged Military food and gave her a thumbs -up before showing them to the boys, "Well, looks like you guys will be missing the cake they're serving at the lunchroom today."

At that moment, Homura noticed Tateyama's fingers slam into his keyboard, Minami didn't notice it, but Homura could see Hideki and Takuya shifting away slowly.

"Now, get to work."

* * *

On the front-yard, Homura and Sanbey were sitting on a bench, waiting for the boys to get their tools from the shed. No words were exchanged between the two until they noticed Tomura - equipped with the prosthetic he had on his wheelchair - walking out of the school and towards them.

"Hey Akemi-san," he said in his usual formal manner.

"Don't you have class?" she asked, reading her files.

"Well, my school doesn't open until afternoon, so I get to be here for the entire morning," he hopped onto the bench, Sanbey barely avoiding being squashed by the younger student, "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for the boys to hurry up with their tools," she looked at her wristwatch, "It's been nearly 15 minutes."

As they waited, Tomura looked up at the clear, blue skies. Beginning to feel uncomfortable with the long silence, he asked, "Akemi-san, don't you ever take a break?"

"A break?"

"Well, you're always reading your files every time I see you. Don't you ever... relax?"

Homura thought of his words for a while before calmly declining, "...No. I never really have anything else to do. I'm far too busy."

Tomura sighed, his prosthetic legs kicking the air as he sat in boredom, "Ummmm..."

"What?'

"N-nothing," he quickly looked away, a calm wind blowing between them.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the storage room located on the 2nd floor, the boys were having a delay.

"Well," Hideki sarcastically asked, "What now, 'Master Planner'?"

Mamoru brought a finger to his chin, "I'm thinking."

In the dirty, litter-filled storage room, a large cart that stored numerous amounts of heavy tools was stuck between the door-way as the boys pushed it there so that they would have an easier time getting the tools they needed.

They didn't think that the cart would get stuck.

Tateyama crouched down and examined it, "It won't be easy getting it out; the tools inside this thing made it too fat to push through the doorway."

Hideki ruffled his hair in frustration, "Why do you always try to sound smart when you're trying to tell us we're screwed?"

"Why not?" Tateyama then stood up and sat on a nearby toolbox, taking out his laptop from his bag for some relaxation.

Takuya then heard some students walking by and poked his head out of the door, "Hey, mind giving us a hand here, please?"

The students looked at him and stifled their laughter.

"Look, it's the guy that drenched the auditorium in water."

"Nice aim, dumbass!"

They then walked pass the storage room, one of them taking out the gum from his mouth and sticking it onto the tool cart before leaving the boys on their own.

"Jerks..."

Mamoru placed a hand on his shoulder to cheer him up, "Don't worry, people on their level can't even comprehend your archery skills."

"I didn't really understand what you just said, but that kind of cheered me up!"

When Hideki tried pushing the think out of the doorway, he collapsed to the floor after 5 seconds, "Well, since we're stuck her for a while. What do you guys think of that Akemi girl?

Mamoru sat beside him, "Where did that question come from?"

"Well, we're pretty much spending a week with her eyes locked onto us, why not talk about her?"

Tateyama quickly answered, "Calm, silent, and strict. She might as well be a Military Officer."

"What he said," Takuya agreed.

Hideki nudged Mamoru, "What about you?"

"I have nothing to add except this: Perhaps we should discuss about this **after** we get this infernal cart out of the way."

"Sounds good to me," Hideki got up and gave the cart a slight kick as he tried thinking of something, "Well, how about we kick this thing out of the door-way?"

"Something like that needs four people," Tateyama pointed out before leaning his back against the shelves and letting out a lazy sigh.

"Help us, and I'll give you the cake I bought earlier."

"Deal."

The four boys then stood behind the cart, each of the prepping up their strength. Since the storage room was located at the end of a corner, the cart would just wheel down the hallway if they managed to get it out.

Mamoru counted down their timing, "3... 2... 1... NOW!"

Immediately, the boys legs kicked the cart and the sudden jolt of force sent the cart out of the doorway... and down the hall at high speeds.

"Oh crap!" Takuya cursed and began chasing the cart with his friends behind him. Hideki and Mamoru were not far away while Tateyama was far behind.

At this rate, the cart would crash into the tall windows at the far end of the hallway and fall on anything outside. But, Takuya and Hideki were persistent, as the cart the crashed into the window, the two boys jumped and grabbed it by the handle, preventing it from flying out.

The two were relieved despite the shattered window, but due to the sudden stop, the cart's contents spilled out and their relieved smiles turned grim as Mamoru and Tateyama caught up.

"Uh oh."

* * *

Homura heard the crash as she was right under the failing tools, and at out of desperation and regards to the safety of the boy beside her, she pushed Tomura out of the way. But, even though she was a Magical Girl, she was given a harsh reminder that there were still normal things that could hurt her, that included a large hammer falling on her head.

Tomura got to his feet, slightly bruised, and looked at Homura's unconscious body. Quickly, he ran into the school for help as he called out desperately for his brother with a racing heart.

Sanbey ran towards her and tried shaking her awake, "Come on! It's just a scratch, right?! Wake up!"

At that moment, a large shadow fell upon Sanbey, the hairs on his body and his three striped tails stood still. As he slowly turned around, and stood over Homura's body in defense, his voice became grim, "You again...!"

Tomura and the boys bolted through the school doors and immediately to Homura's aid as Mamoru ordered his friends, "Taku, Tomura, ask Miss Narita to get ready for a patient! Tateyama, Hideki, help me stop the bleeding and get her to the Nurse's office!"

* * *

30 Minutes after the incident, Homura was lying down on a bed in the Nurse's office, unmoving. Hideki and Tateyama were sitting beside her, Takuya and Tomura were talking with the Nurse outside the curtains that surrounded Homura's bed , and Mamoru was discussing with Minami outside of the office.

The atmosphere was heavy as Hideki leaned back in his chair, trying to calm down. Tateyama was silent, trying to distract himself with his laptop as the sounds of his game were the only ones in the clean and prestigious room of the Nurse's office.

Takuya and Tomura walked through the curtain surrounding them and both took a seat. Tomura didn't say anything as he felt like it was somewhat his fault that his happened. But he tried erasing that thought as Takuya gestured him to rest.

After a while Mamoru, Minami and the Nurse walked in as well. Minami slammed the end of the bed with a shaking fist as she looked at the unconscious Homura.

"I leave her with you guys and you all just..."

Mamoru placed a hand on her shoulder, "If it means anything, I shall accept full responsibility for this."

"No," Hideki stood up, "It was my fault; I-"

"Enough, both of you," Mamoru then watched as Minami quietly walked out of the office before he turned to the boys.

"Hideki, monitor her, I'll be discussing with Minami on this matter. Taku, Tateyama, Tomura, get something to eat."

As most of the boys stood up to walk away, Hideki turned to questions to the nurse, "How is she, Narita-san?"

"She's fine, but she took a bad blow to the head and I'm not sure if or when she's going to wake up," her voice was grim as sat, taking off her cap and letting her long, brown hair flow, "Her wounds are much more different than the ones Takuya always has."

Hideki tried closing his eyes, but he couldn't rest for a bit. Suddenly, he heard an exhausted groan and Narita immediately stood up to attend to Homura, "Miss, Miss, can you hear me?"

Yuri walked in to Homura's side as Minami sent her in her place, "Akemi-san, are you alright?"

Hideki slowly looked at Homura, seeing the large bloody bandage around her head as Homura weakly turned and saw Yuri clenching the bed railing beside her with a worried expression, "W-Who are you?"


	12. Chapter 11 Panic Attack

Years ago, in Mitakihara pre-school.

Nurse Narita, with long brown hair and a small scar on her cheek, was attending to one of the students on her office when a teacher came in, "Nurse, I need your help; it's Homura again."

While it was the 3rd month of school, Homura had just transferred recently, but she wasn't having a good start the moment the young girl had begun schooling here.

Narita laid down the thermometer and told the student to wait before she followed the teacher into the corridor with her bag in hand, "What happened this time?"

"She locked herself in the storage shed and won't come out," the two walked out into the playground and saw a bunch of kids talking around the storage shed. The moment the two walked closer, the kids stopped their talking and ran away. The teacher knocked on the wooden door, "Homura, I brought the nurse."

"... Go away."

Narita placed a hand on the teacher's shoulder, "I got this."

The teacher reluctant walked away, leaving Narita out in the open sun and next to the storage shed.

She gently knocked on the door, whispering, "Homura, can you hear me?"

"... Go away."

Narita's voice was gentle and calm, "Ignoring me won't help anyone, darling," she took out a lunch box from her bag, "I brought some food for you. If you tell me what happened this time, I'll give it to you."

Nothing but silence came.

The door unlocked and Homura, with teary, red eyes staring at Narita behind round glasses, walked out of the shed, wiping her tear-stained cheeks; her long, black braid trailing down her back.

"Good girl," she wrapped her arms around the young girl and gave a warm smile, "Now, let's go to my office."

Moments later, Homura was sitting on Narita's desk, eating her meal as the Nurse was talking to the teacher again, outside her office.

"That kid really is sensitive," The teacher said, peeking at Homura through the door, "Scared of most people and prone to panic."

"When you se your parents die at a young age, you'll get scared easily," Narita sipped her coffee and let out a sigh.

The teacher looked back at the nurse, acknowledging her statement with a nod, "Aren't you taking care of your sister's children?"

"Yes. But, Takuya and Tomura seem to be taking it quite well; they know how to hide their feelings."

* * *

Present day.

Homura's heartbeat began to increase. As she scanned the room with weak and confused eyes, she pushed Narita and Yuri away before curling up her legs like a scared child, "W-Where am I?"

Narita went to her desk to get a sedative as Yuri tried to calm her down, "A-Akemi-san, calm down..."

Homura retreated to the corner of her bed and Hideki gestured the younger girl to back off. Narita came back with a sedative in hand.

"Now, Miss, I need you to calm down an-"

Homura swatted away the injection.

* * *

Mamoru and Minami were outside the nurse's office. Leaning against the wall with folded arms, Mamoru looked at the silent president and said, "If it makes it better, I'm taking full responsibility for this."

Minami scoffed, "And do what? Make it worse?"

Mamoru looked away, unsure of what to say.

Suddenly, the doors slid open and Homura, bare-footed with a bloody bandage around her head, bolted out of the nurse's office with Hideki following her.

"What th-?"

"Bloody hell," Mamoru quickly followed Hideki.

Narita and Yuri came out of the office with bruises on their faces and Minami asked, "What the heck happened?"

"She's suffering from retrograde amnesia and a panic attack," Narita answered. Minami didn't understand that and looked at her sister.

"She's scared and can't remember anything!"

"A-Alright, you two stay here and prepare something to calm her down. I'll get help," Minami took out her phone and headed to the council room while the two walked back into the office.

As Narita prepared another sedative, she asked, "You never told me what was that girl's name."

Yuri handed her a few syringes, "Akemi Homura."

"Wait, " Narita looked at her questioningly, "Akemi... Homura?"

* * *

Homura pushed students and teachers out of her way as she ran through the glass corridors. Stopping at a flight of stairs, she looked around and the school's bizarre architecture gave Homura a headache as her feet began to freeze from the floor's cold feel.

She looked back and saw the two boys behind.

"Akemi-san, wait!" Hideki shouted.

"Shouting will only make it worse," Mamoru pointed out before Homura went down the stairs.

"Damn it, you're not helping!" Hideki sat on the railing and slid down the stairs while Mamoru climbed down normally, panting for air.

"How much can that bloody girl run?" Mamoru moaned in annoyance.

* * *

Minami was running through the corridors when she knocked into Takuya. Behind him, Tateyama and Tomura looked at the president.

"What's wrong?" Tomura asked.

Minami shook of the blow as Tateyama helped Takuya up from the floor, "Bad news, Akemi-san is running through the school like a scared animal."

"Is there anything we can do to help? Takuya asked with his usual energetic tone returned.

The president scratched her head and looked at the three with no expectations from them in mind, "Is there?" she scratched her cheek, "J-Just wait in the Nurse's office and don't do anything stupid."

The president ran pass the three. Tateyama took out his laptop and leaned against the wall before doing some research.

"What are you doing?" Tomura asked and tried taking a look at the taller boy's monitor.

"Researching that girl's personal database."

* * *

After 15 long minutes of running, Mamoru and Hideki had cornered Homura into hiding in the equipment shed where most of the practice weapons were held. Both of them were gasping for air.

The two were standing outside the wooden door. Hideki tried to open it, but it was locked from the inside.

"Akemi-san, can you hear me?"

Nothing but silence came.

"Move, boys."

The two looked back and saw Narita and Yuri. The nurse was carrying a square bag in her hand, but what the boys found strange was that she held no sedative in hand.

"Where's the-"

"Sedative? Don't need it," Narita gestured the boys to move away, and they did so respectively, "I know how to handle this."

Narita walked up to the door and gently tapped on it, "Homura, can you hear me?"

* * *

Homura hid herself under a table of tools. Her breathing was rapid, her palms and cheeks were sweating, and her eyes darted left-and-right. When she brought a hand to her chest she could feel herself shaking.

One of the tools in the dusty shed fell from the shelf and landed beside her, startling her. Suddenly, Narita's gentle voice could then be heard, "Homura, can you hear me?"

She didn't recognize her name, rather, she asked, "W-Who are you talking to?"

"Homura, I need you to breathe. Nice and easy, you're only making it worse by panicking."

Homura covered her shaking hand with the other and reluctantly followed her order, even though she had no memory of her; she could then sense the welcoming smell of food behind the door. Homura's stomach began to grumble.

"Now, I want you to think positive. Remove any trace of negative emotions and focus only on my voice."

"O-Okay," Homura slowly crawled out of the table and towards the door, leaning against it, she covered her ears and tried to stop all of her thoughts made the panic stay.

She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

"Homura, are you still there?"

Despite not knowing her name, she still reacted to it, "Y-Yes..."

"Can you come out now? If you do, I'll give you a nice, hot bowl of soup, and a comfy bed."

Homura then reached for the doorknob, and pulled back. One hand clenched, she reached for it again and gripped it hard before turning.

* * *

Minami and Makoto rushed to the storage room. Taking a turn, they saw Mamoru, Hideki, Yuri and Narita standing outside the door, watching as Homura opened the door.

Minami was going to step in when Makoto outstretched his arm, "It would be better if we stay out of this."

Minami gave another worried look at Homura before reluctantly leaving with Makoto to wait in the Nurse's office.

Slowly, Homura came out of the room; no movements were made in case they'd scare her again. Narita wrapped an arm around Homura's shoulder before she gestured the three to lead the way.

As they walked back, Yuri looked at Homura, she wasn't the calm, stoic girl she had met earlier, now a scared, confused girl that was clinging onto Narita's clothes.


	13. Chapter 12 Caretaker

Surrounded by curtains, Homura was sleeping on the nurse's bed, an empty bowl and spoon on the table beside her. The look on her face was that of a peaceful girl in, compared to earlier.

The others were outside the curtains; Tateyama and Makoto were rubbing the bruises on Hideki and Yuri with wet towels given to them by Narita as Takuya and Tomura watched. While Yuri was calmly handling the pain, Hideki was not, despite having experience being beaten up before.

"Ow!" Hideki exclaimed.

"I haven't even touched you, yet," Tateyama said before rubbing a big, red bruise on Hideki's cheek.

"I wonder how a girl can give you more bruises than all the boys in this school," Takuya commented and looked away. Wanting to do something than just stand idly by, he asked, "Want me to get the bandages?"

"No need. We'd just be wasting them. Again," Tateyama placed the towel in a bowl of cold water and wringed it.

"Anyone wants some drinks?" Tomura asked.

"We all do," Makoto spoke up and passed Tomura a few dollars from his wallet, "My treat."

Hideki snorted, "Look who's being gener- OW!"

"Hold still," Tateyama nonchalantly said.

Trying to keep still, Hideki looked back at the curtains Homura was behind; he still couldn't shake of the feeling that he was responsible for Homura's accident.

Tateyama grabbed his cheeks and brought his face back so that he could continue his work and give him some advice, "It wasn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up for it."

Makoto spoke up, "If there's anything you should do, it's to try and help with the situation in hand."

Hideki and Tateyama had to agree with him, even though he was not exactly on good terms with them ever since the year started.

Behind the other curtain, at Narita's desk, the nurse had told the two about her experiences with Homura during her time in pre-school as the two were reading a set of files about the girl.

"So, her parents are... gone?" Minami asked and Narita grimly nodded.

"Tragic," Mamoru said and settled down the file on Narita's desk, walking out of the curtain before Minami grabbed him by the shoulder.

Minami saw his response as though he did not care, "Don't you feel anything for her? Do you even know how it's like to lose your parents?"

"Minami, leave him alone," Narita ordered and the student president slowly released him.

Mamoru fixed his wrinkled uniform, "It's not like I don't feel anything for her; I'm just customary to hearing this sort of things," he said before walking back to his friends.

Slightly frustrated, Minami leaned back in her seat and folded her arms for warmth, "What does he mean by that?" she muttered.

"You'll have to excuse him for that," Narita said and handed Minami a cup of coffee which she graciously accepted, "He may have come off as uncaring, but he's heard plenty of stories like these; especially from his friends."

"Won't he at least say something nice?"

"He would, but he's not good with strangers."

Minami sipped her coffee, feeling its warmth around her hands. Makoto came in and the two turned to him.

"It's time we decide what we do with her," he declared and both Minami and Narita nodded.

Minami settled down her coffee and the two followed him out, gathering along with the others. Yuri was quietly sitting down next to Tomura, who was kicking the air with his prosthetic legs, Takuya was having a drink with Mamoru; Tateyama was sitting back-to-back with Hideki on one of the beds with his laptop on his side.

Minami was the first to speak up, "All right, while she's like this, where does she stay?"

"From what we know, she has no relatives of sorts," Mamoru interjected, "I had Tateyama check the database, and the personal information regarding her hasn't been submitted, yet."

Makoto looked at the nurse, "Can you take care of her?"

"I could," she replied with a bit of doubt in her voice, "But she would have to stay in my office for the entire time if I'm going to keep an eye on her; the same goes for after school."

"That won't help her get back her memories at all," Yuri sadly pointed out.

"Exactly."

Makoto began to think, he would suggest a hospital, but the unknown environment would probably make it worse, "Minami and Yuri would be occupied with their work in the Council, especially since the tournament is coming up, and I would be busy with training my boys."

As they all talked, Takuya, Tateyama, Tomura, and Hideki kept silent. They didn't really have anything to add to the discussion, or any suggestions until Tateyama nudged Hideki in the arm, "Don't you wanna add anything?

Hideki nodded, "Well..."

"Just do it," Tateyama said, typing on his laptop.

Reluctantly, Hideki stepped forward, "We'll do it."

"No way," Minami quickly shot him down, "Not after what y-"

"Hold it right there," Mamoru interjected and stepped forward as well, "Since we are the ones mainly responsible for this, don't we have the obligation to fix this problem?"

"Yup!" Takuya agreed.

"We have the most time in our hands, anyways," Tateyama said.

Minami looked back at Makoto and Yuri, both gave out their own comments on the matter at hand.

"It could work," Yuri said.

"Or, it could get worse," Makoto honestly pointed out, "How about you, Narita-san?"

"Well, they do deserve a second chance, right?"

Whether Minami disagreed or not, it still seemed like a promising deal, and after moments of silent thinking, she finally gave in, "Fine, fine, do what you want. But, you boys better take care of her."

She then turned to the door and slid it open, "Yuri, we're leaving."

"The same goes for me," Makoto said and followed the two out of the room, giving one last look at the boys, he said, "I'm glad we all agreed to this."

After the three had left, Narita turned her attention to the five boys, "Now then, Takuya, I want you to make sure Tomura gets to his school on time, I'll be meeting with his principal when the afternoon session ends," she stood up and showed the five out, "The rest of you should head back to class. I'll keep an eye on her in the meantime."

"Thank you," Hideki said.

"We appreciate the help, and the support," Mamoru gave a slight bow and walked through the door with the other four.

Takuya and Tomura went the direction opposite of where the others headed. As the remaining three walked back to class, Tateyama looked at his blue-haired friend and saw that the look of guilt on his face had slightly subsided, "You all right?"

"Sure. If feeling like I'm being smashed with a karma anvil counts, then I'm a-o-k," he deadpanned.

* * *

Tomura and Takuya walked out of the school's front doors. When they passed the spot where the accident had occurred earlier, Takuya spotted something and crouched down to look.

"What's wrong?" Tomura asked.

Takuya looked closer on the pavement and brushed his hand, deep slash marks were all over the spot where Homura's body had fell earlier, "It's nothing," Takuya shrugged his worries and continued escorting his brother to his school.


End file.
